THE Municipal Government of Jose Abad Santos (JAS) town in Davao Occidental has extended the temporary lockdown in its two barangays until October 16 to curb the surge of Covid-19 cases in the area.
Mayor Jason John Joyce said in a Facebook post on Sunday, October 10, that the Municipal Government deemed it proper to curtail the movement of people by enforcing a total lockdown in Barangay Caburan Big and Barangay Caburan Small.
"Mga mahal kong Jasenyos, tungod sa padayon nga pagtaas sa kaso sa Covid sa JAS labi na sa [P]oblacion ug sa advise sa mga ekseperto, nadesiyunan namo na i-extend ang (My beloved Jasenyos, because of the continuous surge of Covid-19 cases in JAS, especially in the Poblacion area, based on the advice of our experts, it was decided to extend the) limited movement sa (in) [P]oblacion hangtud (until) October 16, 2022 ," Joyce wrote on his post.
The mayor issued Executive Order (EO) 21-020 on October 3, placing the two barangays under a one-week lockdown from October 4 to October 9.
In his latest EO 21-022, Joyce emphasized the need to extend the lockdown and further control the Covid-19 cases in their town because the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), the Covid referral hospital of Davao Occidental, already has full occupancy of its Covid-19 beds.
He added that the municipality is currently experiencing a surge, with 392 total confirmed cases, 136 cases of which are active as of October 6.
“All residents of Barangays Caburan Big and Caburan Small are mandated to stay inside their homes and are prohibited from going out, except for urgent medical emergencies, and except for the following authorized persons outside of residence (APOR),” the EO states.
Officials of the affected barangays have issued food and medicine (FM) passes per family to limit the movement of all residents.
“This will be used whenever there is a need to buy and look for food, go to the hospital, or when an emergency situation necessitates. All households shall apply at the barangay concerned for issuance of FM pass limited to two individuals per household. FM passes should be free of charge,” the EO added.
As of October 11, the Provincial Health Office recorded a total of 522 confirmed cases in JAS, wherein 193 are active cases.